Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 198 — page 6: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

2 ee a A A A tegen ape 28 7 Oo. ee ee ee On ee ee ne ee NR ES Sv TN TE A them, he suddenly caught his bowie at the int and sturted forward. At the same time e carried his knife-arm threateningly back. The Indians dodged amid the hooting laughter of their white brethren; but a loud cry rose from the throats of all as the bowie actually left its owner’s hand. It whirled but once, and then shot downward into the dense, awe-stricken crowd. Those who turned their heads to watch its flight were not quick enough, for with a roar of n strangely mixed with a volley of oaths, Golane! Thunder staggered back with six inches of the deadly blade sticking out behind his left shoulder! The steel had undoubtedly been aimed at his heart, but the lifting of his revolver had caused him to shift his position the least bit just as the kuife left Arkansaw’s hands; and hence it was his shoulder, and not the organ of life. The work of the knife was received with a cry of that shook the roof of the bar-room. Colonel Thunder had fallen to the ground, killed as every one believed, and the crowd, knife and pistol armed, made adash at the stage. Vor one moment The Man with the Knife sur- veyed the scene beneath him with an eye that blazed like an eagle’s in a tempest. He showed his teeth in a wolfish grin. He looked like a man who knows that in his strength always lies his safety, and asif to prove this, he turned suddenly and threw himself against the broad boards that formed the northern end of the saloon. The next instant crash! went the planks, and as the figure of the man with the knife shot through the opening a dozen revolvers cracked; but their bullets did nothing more than bury _themselves above Whisky Jose’s head, The smoke had not cleared away before men, Indians as well as whites, were clambering over the stage to the opening while many were rush- ing toward the main entrance. The atmosphere was full of profanity; but one thought filled the ag of all—to catch Arkansaw and kill im. A few, among these Halleck and Esmer, had remained at Colonel Thunder’s side, and when the crowd had almost entirely left the room Jose shut the door. Colonel Thunder gritted his teeth as the knife was withdrawn, and then fastened his eyes on it. “Tt looks like the same he used, ten years ago,” he said, unconsciously speaking aloud; ‘*only the one he had then had a red hilt. This one is red, too, but we ses painted it. Jose, have they caught’im? No? go out an’ call ’em off; call my family off, gn iwi He came hyar to give me his knife. hope he didn’t see the boy. u Yer boy—the young ’un, kernal? h Fane now,” said the bar-keeper. “Hyar? Esmer?” ‘“*1 am here.” Colonel Thunder turned toward the sound, and fastened his eyes with a look full of rebuke upon his oA ga ‘“*What brought you hyar?’ he demanded, fiercely. “Tt was my fault. Blame me, sir,” said Hal- leck, advancing. ‘You?’ and Thunder looked fixedly at Gold Conrad’s young enemy, measuring him with his flashing eyes from head to foot. ‘“‘So it war our fault that Esmer came hyar, eh? Come yar. I want to say a word in private.” Halieck stepped forward, and as Colonel Thunder’s right hand fell on his shoulder his heavy mustache touched his ear. ' " ve Vulture Bar without my authority, an’ the buzzards will pick your bones among the bushes!” be hissed. ‘‘?’ve seen you afore. I knew you when you war the idol of the Apache camp. , A flash of fire lit up Halleck’s eyes, and his He sprung back and He war face kindled with insult. drew his revolver. **Colonel Thunder, you lie!” he exclaimed. ** 1 have been insulted before in the same man- mer. Take back your infamous words or I'll finish Arkansaw’s work—finish it right here, Halleck stepped forward as he finished, and, as his left band shot at his insulter’s throat, his right thrust the revolver into his very face. Colonel Thunder laughed the laugh of the fearless desperado. *“‘ Don’t be a fool!” he said, calmly. ‘‘ Killme and never know who yer mother war.” The pistol dropped undischarged at Halleck’s — —- -— ~~ — = CHAPTER VI. THE ROSEBUD AND HIS PARDS., CoL. THUNDER’S word was law at the Bar, and Whisky Jose hastened to obey the command ad- dressed to him. He went outside and proclaimed in a voice that might have been beard a mile away that Arkansaw should not be pursued. It had the desired effect, for the hunters came back one by one, and the saloon began to fill. In the mean time, by the help of five stalwart men, his pards, the master of Vulture Bar had been helped to his cabin. The loss of blood had weakened him, and given his face a pallor which made him look like another person. Halleck did not follow the little company to the cabin, beneath whose roof he had already stood. He had pressed Esmer’s hand before she left the Howling Wilderness, and caught, with a satisfied smile, the friendly promises that beamed in her eyes. Henceforth, the young man believed, his fate was to be strangely linked with that girl’s. He did not venture back into the saloon, where a hundred excited men were discussing the startling events of the night. He was a stranger at the Bar, and as such would not only attract attention, but rouse suspicion. He had reached it simultaneously with The Man with the Knife, and there were not a few desperate fellows who would naturally regard such an event suspicious. Therefore Halleck left the structure and sought the open air. His wound did not pain him now; but his mind soon went back to the short struggle before Colonel Thunder’s cabin, and to his antagonist. ‘**My assailant must be at the Bar,” he mut- tered. ‘‘I wish I could find him and return the compliments which he lately gave me on the. int of his bowie. He never liked me—the jealous red-skin, and I am sure that I have lost no time loving him. He must be here some- where. As Iam forbidden to leave the Bar I might as well spend a little time in looking him u Halleck moved away, but his attention was soon called to the statue of a man that was visi- ble by a bit of light that streamed through the opening which Arkansaw had weather-boarding of the saloon. The statue of aman, we say, for the figure seemed planted in the ground, and did not move a limb. ‘‘One of my watchers,” thought the young man. ‘‘ Colonel Thunder is going to carry out his threat if I attempt to leave the Bar without his permission. He is king here. I must not forget that. By Jove! why couldn’t I try this fellow?” The thought was no sooner matured than Halleck moved off in full view of the statue. ‘* Pshaw! my scheme doesn’t affect him,” he said, as he suddenly halted and glanced over his shoulder. ‘*‘He doesn’t seem to care a nickel whether I go or stay. He hasn’t moved for ten minutes; he— There! he’s going to exercise his limbs.” The object of Halleck’s attention had sudden- ly left his post. ** By my life! itis Arkansaw!” exclaimed the young man. ‘* He’s a fool to walk back into the jaws of death. Maybe he has discovered that he missed the heart he threw at and has returned for the pur of finishing a bungled job. Well, my bowie-king, sail in and give the colonel his quietus. Halleck will not interfere.” The man so closely watched by Gold Conrad’s enemy, walked toward the rear walls of the Howling Wilderness and stopped as if to listen to the liquor-loosened tongues inside, Halleck mechanically crept forward and kept his eye on him. If the man was Arkansaw, he had re- turned to the Bar for a purpose, and that pur- pose the young man desired to know. All at once Halleck was forced to crouch to the ground, for the figure of the listener had wheeled toward him and was coming forward. *‘He got in a part ov his work,” Halleck heard a voice say, that startled him, ‘* He’s on a reg’lar killin’ trip, an’ with his knife, too. They didn’t foller him fur, it seems; the ver man he cut called ’em off—all but the Injuns. wish I hed got hyar sooner. I would ef thet roady hadn’t stopped me in the canyon.” Halleck thought that a strange laugh followed the last word; but he was not certain. The man had revealed himself; he was not Arkansaw, but the man whom he had stopped with the belief that he was Gold Conrad’s second messenger to the Bar. It was the Rosebud of the Pink Forks. He passed within a few feet of Halleck and went toward the mines, Over thesame ground, as the younz man had lately learned, The Man wit the Knife had fled a few minutes before. made in the. Arkansaw, the Man with the Knife, ‘**Me a messenger from Gold Conrad?” still giving vent to his thoughts. ‘‘ What did the roady take me fur, anyhow? ‘Gordon told me to come to the Bar an’ kill an’ ve been hyar ten minutes an’ hevn’t killed anybody yet. I made the gold king take his choice between two hearts an’, like a sensible man, he chose to keep his own in a healthy con- dition. Oh, you thievin’ tiger! the Rosebud will go back afore long an’ settle a long-standin account with you.” Halleck’s heart gave a great leap into his throat. He was not alone in his hatred of the magnate of Lodeton. The man before bim wasan yao te he was going back some day and pay off the debt of vengeance he owed. A strange idea flashed tbrough the youth’s mind. If this man hated Gold Conrad, he could not love Colonel Thunder, his tool; therefore, why could not he (Halleck) form an alliance which would insure him a friend, an ally ina land where he had but one friend, and that a young girl? The thought fascinated our hero, and a mo- ment later he had touched the Rosebud’s arm. The man turned with a light cry, and Hal- leck heard the click of a revolver’s lock as a hu- ae arm shot up until it was on a level with his ace. But undaunted he looked over the barrel into the bearded face of the Rosebud. “‘T have just heard you say that Gold Conrad,” Halleck said. ‘‘So do fore let us be friends,” The representative of the Pink Forks, where- ever they were, did not seem to hear the words. His eyes, keen as an eagle’s, were measuring the figure before him from head to foot. Halleck had a good figure;if his face was extremely youthful, it was strong, well knit, and full of suppleness. ‘‘T say that I hate the same man you do,” continued Halleck, determined to make the Rosebud hear him. ‘ But, if you prefer it, | will get my work in first and leave you nothing to do when you go back to Lodeton to cance! the debt you have just been talking about.” This time the words roused the Rosebud, and his burning eyes met Halleck’s gaze. ““Oh, you want to become my pard, eh?’ he said. ‘* Did I say thet I hate Gold Conrad?’ ‘*T understood you so,” said Halleck. ‘‘ Wal, mebbe [ did. In the first place, who ar’ you?” ‘*My name is Halleck. ever had.” ‘‘'Yer handle ain’t as musical as mine, the Rosebud ov the Pink Forks,” and the worthy laughed. ‘* When did you come hyar?” **Oh, I’ve been hyar some time,” Halleck an- swered, using some of the enunciation peculiar to the rough class to show the Rosebud that he had been associated with the desperate men of the mines, ‘** About two hours I should judge,” said the Rosebud. ‘‘ What did you do with my reseet? It doesn’t amount to much, but I hed carried it so long thet I hated to part with it. I settled it ez I settle nearly all nmiy accounte—with a revolver at old Finnsickle’s head. Hyar, give it up, young ’un.” One of the Rosebud’s hands had fallon upon Halleck’s shoulder, and the revolver was. again staring him in the face. “The reseet first, the pard bigness after’ards,” came over the glittering barrel. ‘*T haven't gotit. It was of no value to me, and you would have treated it just as I did if, instead of an important message, you had cap- tured such a paper as it was. I owe you an apology; but the receipt I threw away.” The bud’s lower jaw dropped. ‘Honest Injun?”’ “What would I want to lie about such a thing for?’ flashed Halleck. ‘‘I’ve never seen you before to-night—” ** But Pve seen you often, now thet I’ve "been lookin’ at you fer five minutes,” replied the Rosebud as he lowered the revolver. ‘* Wal, let the blamed old reseet go. Ef you still want to press the pard bizness, we'll go on a little further.” ‘* Then we'll go on.” The two men thus strangely met started away together, and soon found themselves among the mines nearest the Bar. When the Rosebud stopped it was in a gulch whose bed was full of giant bowlders, It was wild place for a conference, and Halleck’s ear was quick to catch a sound that startled him. The next moment he caught sight of a heal surmounted by a tuft of feathers, and his hand instantly drew his revolver. (E GoM Ne hate ; there- It is all the name I | ICO Si * (EO)